Path to a New Dream
by GoingMyOwnWay
Summary: The warriors awaken in their home worlds. In their hearts, they know something is missing but cannot conclude what. Their hearts are conflicted, the discoveries and revelations of their journey to obtain the crystals blocked from their mind, hindering their ability to move forward. This is the story of two warriors and how they moved forwards.
1. Chapter 1

When I started this, the first Dissidia was still shiny and new, and I was including all the 1st Dissidia's characters pov. It was too huge; I sat down and had a serious think and decided to limit it to my two favourites: Cloud and Squall. I haven't progressed further than this. But I thought I'd throw it up and see what people think. Just gonna stress it right now: _**no idea**_ where this is going.

 **The Path to a New Dream**

Bonds forged between comrades in battle and through seemingly endless journeys are not to taken lightly. More often than not, they create ties of fate that last beyond the mortal life. The conflict between Chaos and Cosmos had raged for infinite centuries on World B. With the conflict's end, the crystals guided Cosmos' warriors back to their original worlds. Unbeknownst to the warriors, the crystals had blocked the memories and knowledge of that world. A safeguard installed to ensure that the memories of that great conflict would not hinder or damage those warriors. Such is the way of gods to act without obtaining the input of the mortals their actions directly affect.

The warriors awaken in their home worlds, however, with a sense of loss. In their hearts, they know something is missing but cannot conclude what. Their hearts are conflicted, the discoveries and revelations of their journey to obtain the crystals blocked from their mind, hindering their ability to move forward.

This is the story of two of these warriors, how they moved forwards, and their journey towards a new dream.

The Lion

Something didn't feel right. He felt like he was missing an important memory. But the guardian forces weren't the cause of it. It didn't feel the same as the memory loss caused by them. He'd contacted Laguna to get in touch with Sis. But even her powers were unable to help him see the memory. She'd been able to confirm something was blocking a part of his memory, but it was truly beyond the powers of a sorceress to undo it.

So, Squall was alone with the feeling that he'd forgotten more than one friend.

That thought set his teeth on edge. He'd only recently let the Orphanage Gang get close to him. With decreasing reluctance, he could admit they were friends. The thought that he'd forgotten others he admitted to being friends rattled his cage severely.

Gun-metal eyes swept away from his paperwork to the half open drawer where a strange silver crystal sat sparkling. He'd woken up with that crystal hugged tightly to his chest the day these odd feelings emerged. Something about it…Squall just couldn't let it go. It wasn't made from anything he'd ever seen before and the sense of camaraderie it invoked….

The others had noticed his increasingly pensive mood over the past week. Rinoa didn't like the way he was walling himself off from them. Whatever. If she didn't like the way he was, why did she persist in proclaiming herself his girlfriend? Irvine seemed to share his thoughts on that matter too, if the way he lectured Rinoa to give Squall space was any indication. Rinoa had pouted but relented, soon departing for Galbadia, where she was meeting her father and attempting to make peace with him. He wasn't proud to admit it, but Squall had been relieved to see her –and her insistence on _breaking_ his door- go.

Rinoa was a good kid (Emphasis on kid, Squall thought, not even a _war_ could make that girl mature), he knew she'd make some guy a good girlfriend. But that guy just wasn't him; his heart wasn't hers. He felt like his heart was with someone else. Glowing blue kept flashing through his mind late at night. And then that strong sense of friendship connected to a dirty chocobo feather, and a long yellow tail. He wished he knew what it all meant.

The crystal called his attention again. He picked it up and walked over to the window. They were over Winhill at the moment and his office had a good view of the site where Raine was buried. Something tickled his mind, teasingly darting in and out of reach until words formed, so clearly, he could almost read them in the air. If only they could form clarity that clearly instead of the dark wall blocking his efforts to remember.

 _"_ _We may be apart, but we still fight together_ _."_

The SOLDIER

He could see Tifa watching him worriedly from the corner of his eye. She was doing that a lot lately. Though, in her defence, Cloud had been brooding a lot more than usual.

Something felt like it was missing. He wasn't sure whether to trust the feeling of loss, particularly since it involved his memories. The mess of memories created after Zack's death still impacted his trust in his own mind. But he felt like something important had been forgotten. A strange yet comforting sense of family and friendship, similar to what he had in Edge but so different. When he wasn't brooding, he was out travelling, delivering or searching. He couldn't answer the others when they asked what he was searching for; only that he'd know when he'd found it. ' _It'_ felt very important and perhaps linked to the odd unusable Materia he'd found in his pocket (So useless in fact, that even _Yuffie_ didn't want it!). He'd found it the day he'd started feeling like something was gone. The answer wasn't here in Edge, nor the Northern Cavern, or Aerith's church (though he had the oddest feeling she was watching his search with amusement).

Patting Denzel on the shoulder, Cloud strode outside to his bike. The answer had to be somewhere. He just had to look harder. He stared down at the strange Materia again and sighed, muttering a phrase that'd popped into his mind as that odd feeling of missing something important surged again.

" _So be it, if that's my destiny. I live in my reality, not yours."_ _  
_

 **Balamb Garden**

The corridors were eerily silent for the middle of the day, the few walking down the long halls were accompanied only by the loud echo of their own footsteps.

In contrast, Squall's office was crammed with people, arguing so loudly that Squall couldn't even hear himself _yell_.

Hyne, he wanted to get away from it all. This wasn't how he'd imagined his life; stuck behind a desk, performing one bureaucratic task after another and trying to keep people satisfied. It might have been a little easier had Squall any social competency and thereby able to determine what was needed to make people satisfied. No, Squall Leonhart was out of his depth; he may be able to command on the battlefield and in wartime…but peacetime was a very different beast. And he doubted he was made to be a peacetime leader.

No, someone else would be a better fit, he decided resolutely as someone's suggestion was ruthlessly shrieked into oblivion by a furious diplomat. Hyne knows he much preferred the shrieks of monsters to the shouting matches of this lot.

Quietly he typed out a message to the head of the Training Centre. He was going to require a lot of high-level monsters to kill after this.

XxX

It was almost a relief when the invitation to visit Laguna in Esthar came. Squall didn't even think to hesitate; he was quick to send a response in the affirmative. A short meeting in which he delegated responsibilities later, and he was on an airship to Esthar before Garden could even _blink_ (Though, Quistis and Irvine were _definitely_ blinking bemusedly as he all but sprinted onto the airship).

...it was soothing in Esthar, something he hadn't experienced since his days in the orphanage with Sis. Ellone had been a welcome surprise for Squall, in the form of his welcoming committee (Laguna was stuck in a meeting). She'd latched onto Squall as soon as he'd walked off the airship, the petite woman all but _dragged_ him across the tarmac to the limousine Laguna had sent to fetch him. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a harried worker running after them with his single piece of luggage.

At the presidential palace, Squall had no itinerary, no duties to carry out and it took a while to adjust to not needing to hit the ground running upon awakening. Instead, his days visiting Laguna were mostly filled with listening to Ellone and Laguna talking (Ellone too respectful to force Squall to talk, and Laguna too enchanted by tales of Squall's childhood pre-Garden to make him join the conversations), reading in the impressive Library, or in the garden where the flowers produced a calming aroma, which when combined with the warm summer sun was perfect for napping.

…and if he awoke from a nap with Laguna and Ellone curled around him, that was no one's business but his. And if he happened to feign deep sleep until the pair had reawakened and left again…well, he wasn't known for social aptitude and faking sleep was good for avoiding things one didn't know how to handle.

It was also worrying how quickly he adjusted to this semi-civilian lifestyle; the panicked calls from Garden were very few, and the number of politicians able to barge in and demand things of Squall dropped to nil thanks to the watchful eyes of Kiros and Ward. All in all, Squall thought, this break was exactly what he needed.

The only concern now was the ever-growing reluctance to return to Balamb Garden.

XxX

 **Banora**

The mines beneath the ruined village were filled with secrets; not in the least the Emerald Weapon still slumbering there. Zack had mentioned the village in passing once, but beyond that, Cloud had had little knowledge of Banora. He'd had not interest in the place either until running into Bugenhagen, who had informed him that maybe he'd find whatever he was seeking there. And Cloud did find that the mines were giving up a new secret. One relevant to him.

That useless Materia he found himself unable to throw away suddenly began to glow when he neared the former village. After parking his bike beneath the ruins of the town's water tank, he'd found that when he moved in a certain direction that the glow increased. Before too long, he was deep within the mines beneath the village, striding past the eerie statue to Minerva and squeezing through partially collapsed tunnels until, hours later, he found himself standing in a large cavern.

At first glance, it didn't look interesting. In fact, it looked like every other cavern Cloud had ever been in (And there had been a lot of caverns during his adventures!).

A second glance, however, revealed a circle composed of runes in the very centre of the cavern. With a cautious optimism, Cloud took out his phone and began to carefully photograph the runes. So, focused on this task, he didn't hear the faint clink of the odd Materia as it fell from his pocket. It wasn't until it rolled into view on his phone's camera that he finally noticed. Slowly the Materia rolled, following the lines of runic writing so perfectly, Cloud stopped photographing his find and instead watched it. Around and around it rolled, the cavern echoing with the sound of the crystalline Materia grinding against the stone floor as it moved. When it finally reached the centre of the runic circle, it stopped abruptly before suddenly rising to float at about chest-height from the ground, still glowing in a manner eerily similar to Mako.

Then it pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

With cautious curiosity, Cloud unholstered his sword and took a couple of assessing steps towards it. When nothing happened, he slowly made his way into the centre. Once there, he silently sheathed his sword again and reached out to grasp the Materia, idly telling himself to never let Yuffie know that the Materia did something. He'd never seen it again if he ever let this slip out.

In hindsight, though, Cloud would be too busy berating his hasty approach to care if Yuffie found out or not.

White-hot pain seared through his mind the moment he grasped the Materia. The runes began to glow and fairly _hummed_ with power. With a grunt, Cloud fell to his knees, his hand flexing over the Materia even as his other hand flew up to grasp his head. It was like a dam had exploded; images and voices roared as they surged through his mind in a flash-flood. Glowing blue eyes rolled skywards, hand tightening over the crystal as his body keeled sideways, collapsing unconscious amongst the runes.

" _A friend's dream is our dream... We'll defend it together!" A blonde youth, a blue and white ball almost eternally in his hands._

 _"We're not as weak as you might think! We've overcome a lot of hardships to get this far." Another blonde, short and with a long yellow tail._

 _"Whether he's a god or not- We've got to try. Even if our fate...is to disappear..."_ _Gun-metal eyes which framed a scar._

 _"I'll fight! To make sure that everyone has a future... And for myself-to keep my dream alive!" Green hair and timid indigo eyes._

 _"Why Cosmos had to disappear... If WE have to disappear as well... We've got to get some answers!"_ _A bouncy brunette who was always wandering._

 _"It's good to have you with us, Cloud. You've the sense to think things through." Silver hair with purple gems, and a wise voice._

 _"My friends give me the strength. I just need to follow 'this', and the path will open up."_ _A child, too mature for his stature._

 _"But unless we defeat Chaos, they'll return again... They knew everything, right from the start..." A w_ _eapons master who sought a world where wild roses could grow in perpetuity._

 _"We will defeat Chaos, and stop the cycle of conflict. And that will be our final mission."_ _The nameless leader with no memory of his past._

 _"Guess what? The story continues."_

TBC?

Note 1: I wanted to show a different post-war Squall. A lot of fics have him _owning_ peacetime leadership. Let's be clear: wartime and peacetime leadership **is** different, and this is a job that was pretty much dumped on him by Kramer in wartime. In wartime, you needed decisions made **yesterday** , peacetime -you can take the time for lengthy consultations, public submissions, and committees (In fact, peacetime if you don't do this, your career security is really bad). For me at least, Squall is not a bureaucrat, which is essentially what a peacetime leader is. My head canon is that post-war once all the furore, and post-war reparations and rebuilding is dealt with, he does struggle with leading Garden in what is comparatively a peacetime environment.


	2. Chapter 2: Remembrance

**Chapter Two:** _ **Remembrance**_

" _Cosmos_."

The whisper slithered past stiff lips, drawn forcefully up and out from behind the walls locking those memories away. A bead of sweat slowly slid down from his brow, across the pale expanse of his cheek, to fall from a chiselled jaw with a soft ' _splat'_ onto the thick wool of his shirt.

"Cosmos." Cloud repeated, slowly releasing the death grip he had on his hair. Cracks formed on the walls of memories, splintering and travelling until finally, the walls came down with the smallest of whimpers. Rocking back onto his heels, he gazed down at a pool of water in the corner of the cavern. The water lapped rhythmically against the stones and dirt bordering its small shoreline. Cloud narrowed his eyes as he turned his head to gaze at the runes, biting on his lower lip as names and faces arranged themselves with a strong clarity in his mind; as though they'd never been forgotten. The runes gave a final satisfied flicker of light and fell silent again. The glow and hum disappearing as though nothing had happened. Even the dust settled back into the same patterns from before.

On shaky legs, Cloud staggered to his feet, heaving his sword back onto his back. He eyed the crystal for a long moment, holding it at eye level with his lips drawn into a tight, white line. "Why did I forget?" He asked softly, eyes fixed longingly on the gem. "And why make me remember at all?"

The crystal, predictably, gave no response.

Cloud ran from the cavern.

XxX

The first time that he met his fellow comrades in the final cycle of the conflict, his gaze was drawn towards a leather-clad figure. The man appeared to be younger than he, with a straight posture that screamed of military training. The leather outfit he wore was softened by two sets of fur trims; one at his waist, and another at his collar, brushing against a delicate face. Chocolate coloured haired half-hid gun-metal eyes and framed the slender lines of his face and neck. If not for the scar slanted between those compelling eyes, Cloud wouldn't have hesitated to use the word 'delicate' to describe the other man's appearance. Instead, the scar offset his features in a way Cloud could only describe as 'striking'.

Against his will, Cloud found himself enchanted. And he fought it every inch of the way; thankful that the proud lion preferred solitude and tended to take off on his own. Meanwhile, Cloud was pulled into a group by a fervent Tidus. He didn't want to feel so strongly about another of Cosmos' summoned warriors; it had taken the them less than half of the introductions to work out that none of them hailed from the same world. Presumably, they would all return to their worlds when the conflict was resolved (Back to their livelihoods, or their life-streams…Cloud never let himself dwell on which outcome was more likely). There would only be loss, potentially heart-breaking loss, if he listened to his heart on this matter.

But still, he gravitated towards Squall whenever the group was together. They were both silent, though Squall became surprisingly vocal when the conversation turned to weaponry. Before either of them knew it, they'd established a routine and it was commonplace for the other eight to see the pair together. They never spoke of their home worlds, of the people waiting for them but Cloud felt that the silence made it clear that they both had friends waiting. The soft looks and gentle hands were held in check by that piece of knowledge. But even so, in those quiet moments together, Cloud almost dreaded the day they'd defeat Chaos.

XxX

When Cloud finally ran out of his after his flight from Banora, he was in front of Aerith's church in the ruins of the Midgar slums; and too conflicted to ponder whether or not it was mere coincidence. He shoved his hands into his pockets, one fist gripping the crystal tightly as he slowly made his way inside. He hadn't returned to this place since the Geostigma Incident and the aftermath of fighting Sephiroth again. The silence sent his footsteps echoing loudly in his ears; a huge contrast to the jubilant cheers and splashing from that last visit.

The floorboard creaked as he knelt beside the water, extending a hand to trail gloved fingertips over the surface. The corners of his lips turned upwards slightly at the feel of a gentle hand patting his shoulder, and then there was a husky laugh barking at him from a few feet behind. Cloud closed his eyes contently. "Aerith. Zack." He breathed.

Zack's laugh softened to a chuckle. "Hey Spiky…see you got some memories back!"

Cloud straightened, eyes hard as he looked over his shoulder at the grinning spectre. "You knew?"

Aerith nodded with a sigh, green eyes solemn as she peered up at him. "The Planet was not happy with Cosmos summoning you like that."

"…is that why I forgot?"

Aerith shook her head, sending her bangs swinging rapidly in front of her eyes.

"Nah, that was Cosmos." Zack shrugged. "Dunno why…the motives of the gods make no sense."

"Again," Aerith sighed, kneeling gently amongst the sole remaining patch of flowers, carefully tucking her legs beneath her as she settled to sit amongst the flowers she once so devotedly cared for. "The Planet was not pleased with your memories being sealed. You're stronger with those memories…but the Planet's power is restricted when it comes up against that of a goddess."

"Good thing you went to the Banora Caverns." Zack crowed, blue eyes electric with glee. "Because of the Goddess' presence there, it's the one spot where the Planet had enough power to undo the seal on your memories."

"…." Cloud turned a thoughtful gaze towards the water.

Aerith shifted slightly, adjusting her position to lean against Zack as the former SOLDIER came to sit beside her. A muscular arm wrapped around her shoulders as those bright blue eyes joined hers in watching Cloud grapple with the memories. Aerith's keen eyes quickly spotted the longing slowly dulling Cloud's gaze and the sad hunching of his shoulders. She exchanged a knowing glance with Zack, who offered up a cheerful grin in encouragement.

"You know, Cloud, separation is an illusion." Zack piped up, pulling Cloud out of thoughts abruptly.

That drew a sour look from their blond friend. "Sure feels real." He retorted broodily.

"Some worlds are closer than you think." Aerith countered breezily with a secretive smile. Cloud's head jerked up as he turned to gape at her. Her smile widened. "If I could fetch one of them, would you want me to?"

… _Squall…_

XxX

Squall had been at Esthar for a week now…and the restfulness of doing nothing was giving way to boredom. Long-term freedom from his duties was actually starting to feel detrimental to his well-being. The lack of routine was horrible for a man raised in a regimented and busy environment. Perhaps Squall should've been more careful with the distaste his thoughts showed for the lack of routine. Certainly, life had proven more than once that it was quite happy to put him through hell. Maybe Laguna's positivity had influenced him during his stay….or perhaps the presidential palace's state of the art security had lulled him into dropping his guard.

He'd been exploring the impressive presidential library when he abruptly collapsed.

Squall had been about to pull a book on weaponry from its shelf when he heard a gentle voice. As he turned around to see who it was, his vision swam before going black.

The next thing he knew, he was in a field of flowers.

"…Time compression?" he murmured before shaking his head. No, this was nothing like that nightmare of a landscape.

An airy laugh greeted him. "Time compression?...sounds a bit too complicated for me." A smiling woman greeted Squall as he spun around to face her, green eyes watching him with a soft fondness. "Hello, Squall."

"…"

She giggled. "Cloud _did_ say you were a quiet one. I'm Aerith."

"…who is…Cloud?" Squall hesitated over the question. The name rang a distant bell in his memory. He pondered whether 'Cloud' was another he'd forgotten due to using GFs before dismissing the thought…this felt…different…

"Ne, Squall." The woman spoke up again, interrupting his thoughts as she placed a hand on his cheek, drawing his gaze to meet hers. "Has your memory felt…off, lately?"

Squall blinked. Then gun-metal eyes glinted with hardness before he wrenched himself away, taking two steps back. "Who are you?" He growled. "…and how do you know that?"

"Cloud also forgot…not willingly, a Goddess sealed your memories." Came the calm reply as green eyes flickered between glowing with serenity and power. Squall was struck by the notion that this fragile looking woman had a very well-hidden core of steel. "Our Planet helped him remember…and with your Planet's help, gave me the power to help you… _ **if**_ you want me to."

"Are you a _Sorceress_?"

She frowned, tapping a slender finger against her chin. "I don't know what that is." She admitted with a gentle shake of her head. "So, I don't think I am."

"…" Not exactly re-assuring, Squall thought, but I'll take what I can get. Gun-metal eyes narrowed. "What did I forget? And what's the catch?"

She clasped her hands beneath her chin. "No catch…well, I would like to see Cloud happy again, but that's up to him…and you." She waved a hand dismissively. "You know something is missing. Your memories were sealed in your mind….but the heart is powerful….and when your heart connected with the others, it formed an unbreakable bond, one too powerful even for a goddess. That's why you know something is missing. Your hearts stopped the seal from being fully effective."

 _-Blonde hair cloaked a white dress…a sad face with eyes in perpetual mourning-_

"Goddess?" Squall breathed, a flare of pain lit up behind his eyes. He uttered a low groan, clamping a hand across his forehead.

"Cosmos." Aerith pronounced carefully. She reached for his hands, gently holding them palms up between the pair and stared intently. A small flare of light occurred and then his crystal was resting within his cautious hands. "Cosmos." She repeated, tapping the crystal. "Squall Leonhart. Separation is merely an illusion; and it's one that I have the power to break. Get back the memories you lost…and when you do…if you want to, I can take you to my world. Cloud's world." She smiled warmly at him, raising a hand to pet at his cheek in a motherly way. "Just call my name, _**Aerith**_ , if you wish to go. I'll do the rest." With a final jubilant smile, Aerith burst into thousands of glowing streams of light, spiralling into the air.

Squall's vision went black again. The flower field disappeared as his body fell into darkness.

 _A demonic face filled with agony as the God moved into the throes of death. "Cosmos…Now I know what you left behind…"_

 _That blonde hair again, that sad face but this time with eyes steeled with resolve… "The fantasy must come to an end…"_

" _Don't worry. The crystal knows the rest of the way, besides…I'm always right here!"_ _ **Tidus**_ _…_

" _A lady has left the future up to me. I can't run away with my tail between my legs." A golden tail peeked over a shoulder, eyes eternally on the hunt for treasure._ _ **Zindane…**_

" _Once you stop travelling down the path you've chosen, you might as well have disappeared." A low voice, it's deep tone comforting; glowing blue eyes and angelic golden hair naturally spiky._ _ **Cloud…**_

" _We've to protect what we hold dear. As long you have that, you can find the meaning on your own."_ _ **Terra**_ _…_

" _Why Cosmos had to disappear…if WE have to disappear as well…we've got to get some answers!" A chocobo feather, a precious treasure he entrusted to Squall, even as he took off for an adventure._ _ **Bartz**_ _…_

" _The sadness of absolute solitude, having lost his equal in Cosmos…"_ _ **Cecil**_ _…_

" _I learn through all the battles that we can't just give up…even in the despair!" Onion Knight, no…_ _ **Luneth**_ _…_

" _None of us are alone." Firion.._

" _Why do you insist on fighting alone? Can you carve out your path…without the help of others?"_ _ **Warrior of Light**_ _…_

" _No one can take away out time." His own voice…_

 _And then…_

 _That woman again, her green eyes warm as the memories continued to shove their way to the front of his mind._

" _ **No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again**_ _."_

 _TBC_

Hehe, a little Kingdom Hearts reference for the end.


	3. Chapter 3: Zenith

Took a few tries to get this right, my writing naturally likes to take a more humorous approach so I wrote the first draft and then deleted a huge chunk of it and replaced it with more less funny.

 _ **Chapter Three: Zenith**_

 _Separation is merely an illusion…  
_

"Any change?"

 _My world._ _ **Cloud's**_ _world…._

"Not yet…have you informed Garden?"

 _I'll do the rest_ ….

"No, but I'll have to if he doesn't wake up soon…"

… _Cloud…_

XxX

Cloud tapped a finger rhythmically against his half-full mug of beer, from the corner of his eye he could see Yuffie twitching in time to the taps. He let out an amused huff, finally wrapping his hand around the mug and taking a mouthful. He couldn't blame her for her impatience; he'd called everyone over, demanding a meeting...the uncharacteristic insistence that everyone be present was overshadowed only by their surprise that Cloud had _used_ his phone for once.

"Cloudy!" Yuffie stressed, ignoring the sharp looks the rest of their friends gave her. "C'mon already! What's got your spiky butt out of its funk finally?"

He snorted.

"Yuffie." Tifa admonished, failing to hide her smile, she flicked Cloud an apologetic look before returning to washing the used glasses. "So," She ventured. "What do you have to share with us, Cloud?"

"I talked to Aerith and Zack." He stated bluntly. "Some of my memories had been blocked."

Yuffie immediately jumped up and started waving her arms wildly, a million questions about the pair hurtled past her lips. Cid choked on his tea when one of her limbs smacked him across the head. Barret was quick to restrain the pilot, even as Vincent moved to subdue the ninja, coercing her in sitting again. This time on her hands.

Tifa snickered before meeting Cloud's mild gaze with a concerned look.

"I'm fine." He offered up, guessing the direction of her thoughts. "They helped a lot." His brows drew in thoughtfully, silently debating how much to tell them. Coming to a decision, he pulled out the Crystal and held it up. "This…isn't Materia." He started quietly. "It's a fragment of power from a Goddess named Cosmos…"

For two hours, he quietly went over the events of World B, the subsequent suppression of his memories by Cosmos, and how the Goddess Minerva's shrine had enabled the Planet to unlock those memories. He went over the conversation with Aerith and Zack carefully, omitting that Aerith was positive that she could summon one of the other warriors to their Planet, before finally letting his voice die out.

Yuffie had a sly smirk on her face when Cloud finally finished speaking. She waited until he had gratefully accepted a glass of cold water from Tifa and lifted it to his lips before asking "Got a sweetheart tucked away on another planet, Cloudy?" She cackled. Oh, how perfectly she'd timed it! Cloud went beat red as he spluttered, water going all over his shirt and the table in front of him.

Tifa was sniggering even as she handed Cloud a towel and murmured apologies.

Cid rolled his eyes. "Tch, more like Spiky's got a crush on one of 'em." He flicked his nose with his thumb. "Doubt our chocobo-head knew well enough to say anythin'."

"We're from different worlds." Cloud objected hotly. "And I was under the impression that inter-planetary travel was impossible."

"… _was_?" Vincent queried, one fine black brow arched.

Cloud slumped forward. "Aerith thinks she may be able to help another warrior and even bring them here." He admitted.

And that was it for the civil discussions. The group exploded in questions.

XxX

One week.

Squall had apparently been unconscious for a whole seven days. And Laguna had been using every ounce of his political prowess to keep the Balamb SeeD calm. Ellone had quietly explained to her adopted brother that after Day Four, Laguna had run out of reasons to deny the Orphanage Gang's repeated requests to talk to him and had come clean.

Long story short. Quistis, the proxy commander while he was on leave, had been most unimpressed. Balamb Garden was parked outside the city walls. And Ragnarok was _still_ encased in ice, courtesy of a certain Sorceress attached to Garden. Squall had awakened when they were all in the room, to his misfortune. He never wanted to experience a large group of human adults jumping on top of him. _Ever. Again_.

As it was; he'd felt obligated to lecture his friends to within an inch of their lives. The rest of SeeD would be joining the students in writing out "I will not invade a city out of worry for my commander" in their detentions for a week (The students thought this hilarious and were taking it as a badge of honour). One daring B-Class SeeD had tried to protest; it'd only taken three seconds of seeing Squall's glare to halt any protestations. Seifer had nicknamed him "Ice Princess" for a reason, and it _wasn't_ because of Shiva.

He did remember to thank them for their concern; Laguna and Ellone were so proud of him for that.

But it'd taken a week after awakening to get any substantial alone time. Which made calling for Aerith difficult. He was _not_ explaining a ghost girl to his friends. Just…no.

He had questions for the pink-cladded spectre.

Thankfully, after a few days of seeing that Squall was perfectly healthy and recovered, Garden was content to leave again. He'd left Rinoa with ringing ears for freezing Ragnarok…though the Sorceress seemed to be too in awe of how much he'd spoken to really take that lecture in. He'd also taken her aside to quietly make it clear that he had no intentions towards her and proceeded to tell her all about World B and that he was attracted to a certain male he'd met there….and gently hint that with her penchant for a partner that opened themselves to others, perhaps she should look at a certain martial artist that they both knew? Thankfully, Rinoa had taken it well, admitting that finding out that his father could've easily ended up _her_ father if her mother had chosen differently did take a huge chunk out of her attraction to him (She'd mused aloud about referring to him as 'brother' though Squall quelled the idea with a dark look). But, Rinoa had asserted, Squall was not getting rid of her so easily…she would still keep at her attempts to get him to open up. She'd given a final laugh and gentle hug, promising Squall that if 'his man' didn't treat him right, she'd go Sorceress on his unappreciative backside.

Squall couldn't decide if he was amused or insulted. In the end, he settled for being thankful that she took it so well. He didn't need her 'going Sorceress on his backside' after all.

So, finally, Squall was alone and able to properly process the memories he'd unlocked.

It seemed like such a fantastical story; something out of the books Matron used to read them; a Goddess and her chosen warriors in an epic struggle. It'd be easy to write it off as a fantasy…too easy, if not for the crystal. Squall wandered over to his suitcase and pulled out the crystal in question. He sat down in an armchair tucked in the corner of his room and ran his eyes over the plethora of silver spikes, oddly reminiscent of both his gunblade and a wing…

 _No point stalling_. He thought dryly, inhaling sharply. A moment later he exhaled, voice steady and firm as he called.

" _Aerith_."

Dear _Hyne_ , don't let him regret this…

Aerith emerged in a sphere, calmly walking across the room to where Squall before beaming at him. "You remember. Do you wish to go now?"

"…wait." He pinched the bridge of his nose as her face fell in disappointment. "I have questions."

Aerith chewed her lower lip. "I might not be much use." She admitted. "I wasn't a part of Cosmos and Chaos' war."

"…not that." He muttered, drawing in another sharp breath. "If I go…is that _it?_ Or can I come home?"

Aerith blinked. Then blinked again. And then her mouth dropped open into a shocked 'O'. "Oh Planet!" She cursed, smacking a hand across her forehead. "I didn't explain that!" She gave Squall an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I must've caused you trouble."

"…"

Aerith giggled as Squall merely stared at her in response. "You really are quiet!" Green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Of course, you will be able to come back. I talked with the goddess Minerva about it; anyone who holds a fragment of Cosmos can travel between the worlds. You can visit Cloud and he can visit you." She waved her hands as she struggled to explain. "See…imagine…oh I know! Between every world there is an invisible road…well, these roads are normally…let's call them 'locked', so travelling them is meant to be impossible…but because of your crystal, you can travel to worlds where other Crystal holders live. I'm just here to help you."

"Other worlds…Zidane! Bartz!" Squall blurted out. "I can see them?"

"If they hold crystals, yes." Aerith smiled, clasping her hands beneath her chin. "So, will you come visit Cloud?"

Squall huffed, sinking further into his chair. Silently he mused at his sheer relief that he could come and go between planets. Thank _Hyne_ that he wouldn't have to choose. Especially given that he and Cloud had never really talked about this…thing between them. There had been a sense of mutual understanding but both of them had made it pretty clear that their social skills were _not_ up to par…

"Squall?" Green eyes blinked nervously at him.

Squall nodded, expression carefully blank. "Give me time to make arrangements."

Squall would always be thankful for his strong work ethic; because he refused to take time off unless necessary, he'd acquired a large amount of holiday leave. His leave was even more than he thought. To his surprise, Quistis had seen to it that his trip to Esthar as considered a ' _diplomatic mission_ ' and not a holiday. Initially, he'd been concerned that taking off on another trip so soon would cause grumbling amongst his troops but apparently, they'd been quite vocal that he needed a proper vacation…Selphie declared that they needed more time to recover from his Glare of Ultimate Doom; Zell insisted that they were still sulking about the detentions. Irvine dismissed the pair of them and said that all of Garden had heard the screaming and shouting of the diplomats in their Commander's office. No one was questioning Squall's need to take a long break; what they were questioning, however, was how the _hell_ he'd lasted in that office for so long without maiming one of them.

Either way, he was able to take off without a single protest.

What he didn't know was that Rinoa had mentioned to the others that he may 'finally be acting on his emotions' and had hinted heavily that he was likely to be in a relationship when he returned. They were hoping for the best while preparing for the worst…Irvine had placed an urgent order for some very _special_ bullets and Selphie had already plotted out which moves she'd be using first. After all, _no one_ hurt their Squally and got away with it.

XxX

Since his admission about Cosmos and World B, Cloud had had the dubious pleasure of a curious ninja stalking his every move. Her primary reason when pressed, was the chance of stealing Materia from another planet. Cloud had tried to tell her that none of the other Cosmos warriors had ever heard of Materia but she wasn't believing him. In the end, desperate for solitude, he'd flung her as far as he could before _running_ to his bike. In the time it'd taken Yuffie to land, Cloud was long gone in a roar of the engine. Tifa had barely enough time to peek her head out the door before Cloud disappeared over the horizon.

It'd taken Cloud some time to decide on where to hide out exactly; Aerith's church in the Slums was too obvious, as was the spot where he'd sheathed the Buster Sword in the wasteland outside Midgar. In the end, he settled on filling the tank of his motorcycle with fuel and returning to Banora. Banora, he felt, was the ideal choice; for one, the caverns were a maze so any who followed him were unlikely to catch him, and two, that was where his memories had been restored.

The Gongagan victory crow echoing in the wind as he turned off the highway and onto the main road leading to Banora merely finalised the decision.

Cloud had barely set foot inside the cavern chamber when the runes began to glow again. He felt a rough ruffle of his hair and saw a buster sword in the corner of his vision.

"About time, Cloud." Zack's cheerful voice resounded. "Aerith went to see your Squall; she should be back with him soon."

Cloud heaved a sigh as he walked out from under Zack's hand. "He's not _my_ Squall."

"You _want_ him to be though, right?"

Cloud chose to ignore Zack and the blush steadily crossing his face; Aerith would be here soon, and Gaia knows she had the gift of reigning the boisterous former First in.

Cloud was studying a rune on the wall of the cavern when Zack's delighted crow alerted him to company. He turned around just in time to see Zack smother the SeeD Commander and gave Aerith a thoroughly mortified look. Aerith laughed at him before gently prying Zack away. Squall was blinking bemusedly at the pair, hands clutching at the rucksack strap slung across his torso as Aerith slowly coaxed Zack back into the life-stream.

Cloud cringed at the mess Zack had made of Squall's chocolate coloured locks. " _I. Am. So. Sorry_." He bit out as he hurried over. Gun-metal eyes blinked up at him when he began to card his fingers through Squall's hair. Cloud sighed. "Zack and personal space are not compatible." He explained with a small smirk.

Squall opened his mouth before quickly shutting it again with a click of his teeth. Cloud couldn't help but chuckle; clearly the man wanted to comment something rude but thought better of it. His laughter slowly died out, a fond look in his azure eyes as he stared down at Squall. "Good to see you again."

"…yea." Squall murmured, eyes softening when Cloud slung an arm around his shoulder. "Good to see you too."

For the first time in a long time, the silence between the two men felt awkward. Neither had thought much further than simply seeing the other again. Gathering every vestige of his courage, Cloud brought his other arm around Squall, and felt Squalls' warmth leech into his own body as the commander slowly stepped closer, cautiously sliding his own arms around Cloud. With a content sigh, Cloud curled around the other, lowering his face to rest in the crook of Squall's neck. After long moment, Squall slowly relaxed, leaning into Cloud and tightening his grip around the blonde. The awkwardness disappeared the more Squall relaxed into him, the silence returning to that comforting tranquillity from their time on World B.

Cloud smiled as Squall slowly nuzzled his face into Cloud's shoulder, feeling soft puffs of breath splash against the side of his neck. Gaia, Cosmos had some explaining to do; what was she thinking, depriving them of their memories?

"Cloud," Squall muttered. "You or Aerith should have warned me about Zack."

Cloud smirked, shaking his head. "Nothing can prepare anyone for Zack, Squall. He's one of a kind." He paused for a moment before asking. "Before your memories were restored…did you feel like something was missing?"

" _Hyne yes_." Squall breathed. "It felt wrong but all I had was my crystal." His hands crawled up Cloud's back to clutch at his shoulders, eyes lost in thought. "I knew something was wrong but even Sis couldn't help."

"Mmm…wonder if the others feel this way." Cloud tilted his head back to stare at the cavern ceiling. "Think we can do something?"

Squall stared at him for a long moment. "Aerith," He finally spoke just after Cloud began to squirm. "Has a mind like a _sieve_."

"Sorry?"

"She didn't tell me that I could travel between our worlds at first." Squall explained calmly. "I thought that I was going to have to choose."

Squall fell silent again. But Cloud could see the stress that had put him under. Squall Leonhart did not let people in easily; and it was obvious that once he let you in, he kept you there. Cloud smiled fondly, moving a hand to card through those brunette locks again. A loyal lion if there ever was one. His brow furrowed. "You didn't have to choose, right?"

"Right." Squall affirmed. "As long as the Planet in question has a crystal bearer, we can travel there." He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "You could visit my world."

"And we can see the others." Cloud breathed in realisation. "Wow…we can meet Cecil's son and Terra's orphans."

"Zidane claimed his girlfriend was a princess." Squall volunteered casually. "Be nice to verify."

Cloud nodded before pressing his forehead against Squall's. "After you finish visiting me."

"After _you_ visit my world." Squall countered, digging gloved fingers into Cloud's shoulders. Dimly in the back of his mind was the thought that such extended physical contact should be making him uneasy. He shrugged the thought off a second later; he and Cloud had always seemed to break their own rules when it came to the other, so why not this one too?

Lifting his head, Cloud stepped back, breaking their embrace and firmly taking Squall's hand in his. His grip on the other man tightened as he began to lead him out. "Just to warn you…" He started with a sigh. "There is a ninja at my place who will pickpocket you for Materia."

Squall looked absolutely confused. "…Cloud, Materia doesn't even exist on my world."

Cloud huffed. "I know…but she won't believe me when I've told her." His lips curled up into a smile. "Your world is gonna sound like her idea of hell; no Materia to steal."

"…." Squall inhaled sharply. "You need less morally ambiguous friends." He told the blonde seriously.

Cloud snorted in response. "Perhaps." He mused, flexing his fingers into Squall's shoulder.

XxX

Aerith smiled as she watched Cloud and Squall travelling to Edge; Cloud stopped in the Wasteland at the Buster Sword for a moment. While Cloud paid his respects, Squall took the time to stare at the city of Edge with its skyline of cranes, scaffolding and half completed buildings. Around her the life-stream trilled its happiness; its chosen hero was happy and whole in his memories again. Her smile widened when Cloud's hand darted out and dragged Squall onto the ground next to him, quickly wrapping his arms around the leather-clad body, pulling Squall to sit between his legs, back to chest, Cloud's pointed chin digging in Squall's shoulder with every laugh the blonde gave in response to Squall's miffed rebuke.

Beside her, Zack was crowing again.

Not that the couple could hear, thankfully. Aerith mused as Cloud pressed his lips against Squall's in a kiss that quickly turned into more. Zack was going haywire; whooping and fist pumping for all he was worth about their ' _little Cloudy finally growing up_ '.

XxX

In hindsight, Squall's meeting with his friends was even more chaotic than Cloud could've ever anticipated: predictably Yuffie had been appalled at the notion of a place where Materia did not exist, Squall was uneased by Barret's boisterous and handsy approach to socialising…and Cid had absconded with the SeeD the second Squall had accidentally mentioned moon bases…which led to Cloud receiving endless teasing from Yuffie and Barret about how the older blonde had stolen his boyfriend. All the while, Tifa had made up Cloud's bed with fresh sheets, quietly warning Cloud that she would not be washing them. Tifa snickered evilly when Squall returned a moment later to see Cloud with a brilliant blush. She waved off Squall's questioning look and proceeded to kick everyone out of her bar.

An hour later, things were finally quiet; Cloud and Squall were settled in Cloud's bed for the night. There were no heated touches or kisses; just the comfort of knowing the other was pressed up against them. There was no need to rush into a physical relationship; they had all the time that their worlds could offer them. Instead, they focused on quietly discussing each other's worlds, Squall quietly described his friends; details that were previously taboo suddenly coming to life in the rich tone of Squall's voice. Before they finally drifted off to sleep, they started to plan out how they would reach the others, who to visit first, and what they would do once everyone was reunited.

When they'd met, their dream was to end the eternal conflict between Cosmos and Chaos and return to their homes; after remembering World B, their dream had been to meet again.

And now they had a new dream; a dream in which their crystals would provide the path.

 **終わり**

NB: Just in case anyone's wondering: I don't write relationships where the couple jump into bed first opportunity.


End file.
